Sarah Bush Lincoln
Encyclopedia
Sarah Bush Lincoln was the second wife of Thomas Lincoln
and stepmother of President of the United States
Abraham Lincoln
. She was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky
to Christopher and Hannah Bush. She married her first husband, Daniel Johnston, in 1806, and they had three children. When Daniel Johnston died in 1816, she was widow
ed. In 1819 she married Thomas Lincoln
and joined his family with her three children.
with his first wife Nancy Hanks
. After she died in 1818, Thomas returned to Elizabethtown, as he had heard that Sarah was then a widow. They married on December 2, 1819. He brought her and her three children to his farm in Indiana
, where she became stepmother to his two children.
She treated Sarah and Abraham the same as her own children, earning the lasting affection of Abraham. Age 10 when she arrived, he always addressed her as "Mother." She encouraged his appetite for reading and learning. As an adult, he visited her "every year or two," and was apparently closer to her than to his father.
After Thomas died in 1851, Lincoln maintained his parents' farm in Coles County, Illinois
for Sarah and supported her until his death. Their final visit occurred January 31-February 1, 1861, just before Lincoln left Illinois for the White House
.
Lincoln's legendary sense of humor was probably influenced by his stepmother. He recalled that she was a firm but kind-hearted woman who loved to laugh. When he was eighteen years old, Lincoln, at 6' 4", was so tall that his head nearly touched the ceiling of the family's farmhouse kitchen. His stepmother repeatedly joked that Lincoln was so tall that she was afraid he would leave footprints on her ceiling. Lincoln decided to have some fun with this idea. One day, when his stepmother was not home, Lincoln got together a group of younger boys and had them dip their bare feet in the mud outside the farmhouse kitchen. Then Lincoln took each of the boys inside, held them upside-down, and had them walk their feet across the ceiling, leaving muddy footprints. When Sarah Lincoln saw the muddy footprints on her ceiling, Lincoln recalled, she "took a broom to my head, but I could tell she was very amused by it."
Sarah is buried next to Thomas in nearby Shiloh Cemetery, just south of Lerna, Illinois
.
Thomas Lincoln
Thomas Lincoln was an American farmer and father of President Abraham Lincoln.-Ancestors:Thomas Lincoln was descended from Samuel Lincoln, a Puritan from East Anglia who landed in Massachusetts in 1637...
and stepmother of President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. She was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Elizabethtown is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in the state...
to Christopher and Hannah Bush. She married her first husband, Daniel Johnston, in 1806, and they had three children. When Daniel Johnston died in 1816, she was widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
ed. In 1819 she married Thomas Lincoln
Thomas Lincoln
Thomas Lincoln was an American farmer and father of President Abraham Lincoln.-Ancestors:Thomas Lincoln was descended from Samuel Lincoln, a Puritan from East Anglia who landed in Massachusetts in 1637...
and joined his family with her three children.
Marriage and family
Thomas Lincoln had met Sarah while living in Elizabethtown, KentuckyElizabethtown, Kentucky
Elizabethtown is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in the state...
with his first wife Nancy Hanks
Nancy Hanks
Nancy Hanks Lincoln was the mother of Abraham Lincoln and of Sarah Lincoln after her marriage to Thomas Lincoln. After the family moved from Kentucky to Spencer County, Indiana, Nancy Lincoln died of milk sickness at the Little Pigeon Creek settlement...
. After she died in 1818, Thomas returned to Elizabethtown, as he had heard that Sarah was then a widow. They married on December 2, 1819. He brought her and her three children to his farm in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, where she became stepmother to his two children.
She treated Sarah and Abraham the same as her own children, earning the lasting affection of Abraham. Age 10 when she arrived, he always addressed her as "Mother." She encouraged his appetite for reading and learning. As an adult, he visited her "every year or two," and was apparently closer to her than to his father.
After Thomas died in 1851, Lincoln maintained his parents' farm in Coles County, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
for Sarah and supported her until his death. Their final visit occurred January 31-February 1, 1861, just before Lincoln left Illinois for the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
Lincoln's legendary sense of humor was probably influenced by his stepmother. He recalled that she was a firm but kind-hearted woman who loved to laugh. When he was eighteen years old, Lincoln, at 6' 4", was so tall that his head nearly touched the ceiling of the family's farmhouse kitchen. His stepmother repeatedly joked that Lincoln was so tall that she was afraid he would leave footprints on her ceiling. Lincoln decided to have some fun with this idea. One day, when his stepmother was not home, Lincoln got together a group of younger boys and had them dip their bare feet in the mud outside the farmhouse kitchen. Then Lincoln took each of the boys inside, held them upside-down, and had them walk their feet across the ceiling, leaving muddy footprints. When Sarah Lincoln saw the muddy footprints on her ceiling, Lincoln recalled, she "took a broom to my head, but I could tell she was very amused by it."
Sarah is buried next to Thomas in nearby Shiloh Cemetery, just south of Lerna, Illinois
Lerna, Illinois
Lerna is a village in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 286 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area....
.
Honors
- The homesteadHomesteadingBroadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
where she and Thomas lived in Indiana is preserved as the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic SiteLincoln Log Cabin State Historic SiteThe Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site is an 86-acre history park located eight miles south of Charleston, Illinois, U.S.A., near the town of Lerna. Its centerpiece is a replica of the log cabin built and occupied by Thomas Lincoln, father of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln...
. - The Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Coles County, Illinois was named after her.
External links
- "Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln", Lincoln Home National Historic SiteLincoln Home National Historic SiteLincoln Home National Historic Site preserves the Springfield, Illinois home where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1844 to 1861, before becoming the 16th President of the United States...
webpage, National Park Service - Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Systems